Interviewing Honestly
Loose Lips Sink Interviews
Saying something well-intentioned can get you into trouble. Case in point, a producer I know was interviewing the CEO of a major bank. The CEO was extremely time-poor and hadn’t prepared. Answers were rambly, off-point, looking anywhere but at the interviewer. Yet the producer, desperately concerned that they really had nothing useable from it, went to encourage the CEO to do another take. He started with, “That was great…could we…”
But that was it. The CEO was out of his chair and heading for the door. “No. You said it was great so that’s what you’ve got.”
Brief them before you roll. Tell them that you are going to run through things a few times. That it often helps to have another run at things once we’re warmed up, and it might give them an opportunity to rephrase things having done a rough draft out loud.
“It’s always good to do the first run at things to loosen up. Now let's…”
You're letting them know their first take was raw, that it wasn’t quite right, and that it's all part of the process. Now you can get to work.“I actually didn’t know that fact about x … now when we go again could we...”
Focus on something they’ve said rather than how they’ve said it to start with. The quality of knowledge is already there. With a little work, the quality of their delivery will follow.
If you start your feedback with that, it establishes your partnership and shows that you’re engaged. Then tell them what you need them to do differently that will help people focus on what they want to get across.
#Authenticity builds #trust and helps you focus on the #work.
It’s an extreme case of semantic trapping, don’t get me wrong, BUT the kindly meant sentiment was misleading enough that the opportunity was lost. The interview was unusable and the blame fell at the door of the producer.
Here are three ways to be encouraging, but also let the participant know that together you’re going to move towards something better.
